Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes came into his first Rose Bowl tied for the national championship with PCC champion UCLA. However, #2 UCLA was locked out of the game because of the "no-repeat" rule.^[5]

Teams

Ohio State

Main article: 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Ohio State quarterback Dave Leggett threw eleven passes, completing six, one a touchdown pass to Robert Archbald Watkins Jr.^[4] Halfback Hopalong Cassady ran for 92 yards and led the Buckeyes to 304 yards on the ground and an overall advantage of 360-206 yards in total offense.

USC

Main article: 1954 USC Trojans football team

The only touchdown by USC was an 86-yard punt return by Aramis Dandoy.

Game summary

The teams played in the first rainstorm to hit Pasadena during a Rose Bowl in more than 50 years.^[6] The fans were under umbrellas, and it rained during the entire game, turning the field to mud.^[7]

Scoring

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

OSU – Dave Leggett 3-yard run (Tad Weed kick)
OSU – Bob Watkins 21-yard pass from Leggett (Watkins kick)
USC – Aramis Dandoy 86-yard punt return (Sam Tsagalakis kick)

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

OSU – Dick Harkrader 9-yard run (Weed kick blocked)

Aftermath

Ohio State shared the national championship with UCLA for the 1954 season. It was the first "split" championship in college football, when the writers selected the Buckeyes and the coaches chose the Bruins.
This was the first time a West Coast team had been affected by the "no-repeat" rule, which was not in place when California appeared in three straight (1949, 1950, 1951). It happened once more, when Oregon State had to stay home three years later. When the PCC disbanded in 1959, the "no-repeat" rule was dropped by the new AAWU and Washington won the next two Rose Bowls in 1960 and 1961. The Big Ten kept the rule in place from the late 1940s into the early 1970s, although Minnesota made consecutive appearances, the 1961 game was as an "at-large" selection. After the rule was dropped, the first to return in successive years was Ohio State in 1974, the sole win for the Big Ten in that decade.

Game notes

The game was played in the rain; Coach Hayes was not happy that the bands performed the halftime show on the already muddy field

References

^ "Ohio State 2 TD favorite over Southern Cal". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 1, 1955. p. 11.
^ "Ohio State subdues USC, 20-7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1955. p. 1, sports.
^ "Buckeyes drub USC 20-7". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press. January 2, 1955. p. 1C.
^ ^a ^b Rose Bowl 1955 Archived July 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, from RoseBowlHistory.com.
^ Boyles, Bob; Paul Guido (2007). 50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 58. ISBN 1-60239-090-8.
^ 2011 Rose Bowl Historic Media Guide, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, December 2011
^ Lesmirises, Doug - Buckeyes Rose Bowl Rewind: National championship glory in the mud of 1955. Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 16, 2009 Quote: "Through mud, slime, murk and driving rain, Ohio State's dauntless Buckeyes today reached the all-time zenith of the University's football history. Ploughing through muck in the fog and semi-darkness, the Buckeyes vanquished Southern California, 20 to 7, in the worst weather conditions of Rose Bowl history."

v t e 1954–55 NCAA football bowl game season
Refrigerator (Dec. 5) Gator (Dec. 31) Cotton (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Sun (Jan. 1) Tangerine (Jan. 1)

v t e Rose Bowl Game
History & conference tie-ins	History Rose Bowl Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Big Ten Conference Pac-12 Conference
Games	1902 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 ^NC 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (BCS) 2003 2004 2005 2006 (BCS) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (CFS) 2016 2017 2018 (CFS) 2019 2020 2021 (CFS)^TX 2022 2023
Notes	No games were held from 1903 to 1915. ^NC denotes game played at Duke Stadium in Durham, NC by mutual agreement of participating teams because of ban on West Coast large gatherings after Pearl Harbor. ^TX denotes game played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX because of health department-related bans during a pandemic. BCS denotes Bowl Championship Series Championship Game. CFS denotes College Football Playoff Semifinal Game.

Ohio State Buckeyes bowl games

# denotes national championship game; † denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game

USC Trojans bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.